1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to molded containers and more specifically to injection stretch blow molded containers of the general type as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,120. The invention specifically relates to the container having an integral suspension tab formed by stretch blow molding an injected molded parison, the parison having as an included feature the tab sought to be included on the finished stretch blow molded container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,120, there is disclosed injection molded thermoplastic preforms or parisons designed to be stretch blow molded into a molecularly oriented container especially designed for packaging foods, beverages, or the like. There is included in that patent a complete discussion of appropriate specific materials suitable for use in the present invention and, to the extent necessary, the same is hereby incorporated by reference. Further, there is included in that patent a discussion as to the extent of stretching and blowing which can be tolerated by such an injection molded preform. These criteria have largely been adopted by the industry for the production of containers of this class. The present invention by and large incorporates the usual and customary practices in the art as described in that patent except to the extent specifically set forth in detail in the summary of the invention herein.
Generally, the parisons disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,120 are circularly symmetrical about the axis of elongation and likewise the containers blow molded from such parisons are also circularly symmetrical about the axis of the elongation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,429 discloses a stretch blow molded bottle from an extruded parison which includes a nub which extends outwardly on the axis of the cylindrical container. The nub disclosed is of relatively small size said to be between 1/32 to 1/4 of an inch in length and 1/16 to 1/4 of an inch in diameter. The nub is located on the lower extremity of the container and is intended to be thermally welded to a support upon which the container can rest with the elongation axis being coincidental with a vertical line.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,153 discloses yet another container blow molded from an extruded parison, a portion of which extends above the blowing mold. After the container has been blow molded, the upwardly extending portion is shaped into a flat tab, and an aperture is cut therein so as to permit the formed container to be hung by the flat tab.
While it is known to form a tab during the creation of an extrusion blow molded bottle, the forming of bottles having integral tabs from an injection molded parison has not heretofore been done. It is therefore an object of the present invention to create an injection stretch blow molded container with an integral tab. It is a further object of the present invention to create such a container wherein the tab is integrally formed with the parison when the parison is injection molded. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mold cavity for blow molding such a container having a recess therein for accepting the formed tab on the parison.